The Prologue (Part I)
__FORCETOC__ Synopsis Three thousand years after their climactic battle with Eloshan, Dorian, Summer, and Aramil, along with their comrades who still live, enter a fray between the forces of Heaven and the forces of the Inferno. After beating back the Infernal army, they find a door which leads them to the plane of Sigil...something that should be impossible. The city is completely deserted, though the group manages to find what is left of the Lady of Pain, as well as three ominous poems. The group, along with the Lady of Pain, are forced to flee Sigil as an unknown malevolent force bears down on them. Details The scene opens in a stone tower by the seaside, as waves crash against the stony shore. Summer, now known as the goddess Galadia, is looking over one of her pet projects that she has been working on as her herald, Razakel, discusses with her the arrangements of the next Goddess Cycle. Confirming her attendance, Galadia learns from Razakel that her sister, Winter (now more commonly known as Duria), has declined. Turning to a winged man sitting by the window, Galadia asks Dorian if he will be accompanying them to earth for the festival. Dorian replies that it is full intention to go. At that moment, the three of them are alerted by Sharra (once known as Silsharrath) that a major battle is underway. They each teleport to the war room where they are greeted not only by Sharra, Duria, and her herald, Theriel, but also by Aramil, who has come to visit his former comrades in Heaven. Sharra informs them that the forces of Heaven are currently engaging the forces of the Inferno, who had invaded a particular demi-plane. From scout reports and the enemy’s activity, it appears that the Inferno is after something specific, though no one can determine what it is. Sharra also tells them that the Demon King has taken to the field. All of them teleport to the battlefield. Dorian and Aramil go to engage the Demon King, who has taken on a large demonic form, while Galadia, Duria, and Sharra (along with their heralds) begin to beat back the forces of the Inferno. The epic fight between Dorian, Aramil, and the Demon King is intense as each of them wields power enough to level the entire battlefield. Eventually, Dorian forces the Demon King from the field and into another demi-plane which is soon to fall under the influence of the Inferno. Tapping into the Arcanum, Dorian unleashes all of his power in an attempt to seriously wound the Demon King. A shockwave goes through the planes as the demi-plane is completely annihilated. The blast appears to injure the Demon King, but he shows no sign of retreating. Using what little is left of his power, Dorian attempts to convince the Demon King that he has more power at his disposal than he currently has in order to force the Demon King to leave the field. At first, it appears that the Demon King calls his bluff, but then retreats. Dorian is teleported back to the original battlefield, courtesy of Galadia. In the meantime, Galadia and Duria had merged together, forming the Dual Goddess, and, together with Sharra, had successfully driven back the forces of the Inferno. Coming to the center of the battlefield, they find what it is the Infernals were after: a simple door. Theriel seems both puzzled and worried, saying that such an occurrence should not be possible. Deciding to investigate, Theriel, Galadia, Dorian, and Aramil go through the door, while Sharra and Duria remain behind to protect it. Duria resurrects the slaughtered Infernals as her undead minions to provide additional security. Passing through the door, they find themselves within a large metropolis arranged along the inner part of a gigantic ring encircling a mountain. However, the city is completely deserted. Galadia begins to put the pieces together as Theriel confirms their location: the plane of Sigil, a meeting of ways amongst the planes. However, no one has accessed the plane of Sigil for over ten thousand years as the plane was sealed off from them after Eldaren formed the Crystal Sphere. Theriel tells them that the tyrant of Sigil is an ancient goddess who goes by the name of the Lady of Pain. Not being a typical goddess in that she accepted no worshippers, it was generally understood that the Lady of Pain’s word was law within Sigil, and that people went against her at their peril. Theriel says their best option is to try and find Sigil’s tyrant as there is no possible way she could have escaped – as Sigil was her realm, so it was her prison. The group then sets out in an attempt to find out what befell Sigil and to see if they can locate the Lady of Pain. As the group travels to the abode of the Lady of Pain, they begin to notice that there are words carved into the walls of buildings as well as other surfaces. Taking a closer look, they find the words “I see them” as well as what appears to be the incomplete parts of a poem, etched onto the bare surfaces by either blood, teeth, or fingernails. Deeply perturbed, the group arrives at the fortress of the Lady of Pain, which they also find completely deserted. Going inside, the party eventually comes to a room where they find the corpses of angels, though it is unclear whether they slaughtered themselves, slaughtered each other, or were slaughtered by something else entirely. Looking to the walls, the group finds that the words they have been seeing are actually part of three poems: Numbing fear of icy grip Clutched in the hand of fate Burnished cold with purple lips These are the Things that Wait '' Crawling things of dismal night'' Squirming in their deathless plight Foulest horrors of twisted sight Abhorrent ghouls of your deepest fright In dark, in death, in doom The sounds of scream and screech In silent, dustless room The sound of she that weeps '' Feros'' Listen to the coldness That blisters deep inside Speaking the words of honour And telling you they’ve died See that ancient horror That waits behind your eyes Singing songs in long dead tongues And loving you with lies Silent as the dark wind That blows across your soul Bringing things that you can’t be That slowly take their toll It is the quiet anguish That stays throughout our lives Telling us there’s demons there Who are sharpening their knives '' SoulSpeak'' All your hopes All your dreams Your every happiness '' Fall to me'' To win this war And I am not your friend The Things that Wait Are in your mind But that’s not where they’ll stay For in the end A time too near You’ll see them every day ::: '' The Things That Wait'' It is at that moment that the group then hears the crying of a small child. Following the weeping and the sniffles, the group comes to a door where they hear the voice of a child, possibly another one, speaking to someone. Opening the door, they find a bedroom, in complete disarray, with a little girl wearing a dress sitting crying before a mirror. They notice that the reflection of the child in the mirror isn’t as it should be, as it stands looking down on the sitting child before noticing the heroes have entered, and then mimics the posture of the other child. Galadia and Dorian approach the child, trying to find out what has befallen the residents of Sigil and what has become of the Lady of Pain. It is then that they learn that the child is the Lady of Pain, at least what is left of her. They are unable to get anything coherent from her, as she offers nothing but vague answers as she glances frightfully at the mirror, but they are able to deduce that she appears as diminished as she is because she had to remove a large part of herself and, presumably, placed it in the mirror. It is at that moment that the reflection of Dorian, which had sat as he had, kneeling before the child, turns to look at him and slams its hand against the surface of the mirror. Galadia takes up the child and the group flees the fortress, racing back through Sigil towards the door. As they go, the very plane itself seems to shift, as the buildings start reaching out with long tendrils and shadows in an attempt to grab the party. The group manages to make it through the door, and, using their power, they are able to force their way through it and take the Lady of Pain with them. They tumble back out onto the battlefield they had left, and slam the door behind them, at which point the door simply disappears. Trying to put together what they have just witnessed, the group realizes that their answers are likely linked to their battle with the Dark Star and with Eloshan that occurred all those thousands of years ago. However, they had all locked a greater part of their knowledge pertaining to the nature of the Dark Star into crystals that they had hidden on earth long ago, and that had then been lost in the subsequent upheavals. Each of them then makes their plans to contact their mortal agents on earth to locate the crystals, and bring them closer to finding out what befell Sigil…and what may now threaten the worlds within the Crystal Sphere. First Appearances *Galadia *Razakel *Duria *Dorian Caero El'Luthen *Sharra *Theriel *Aramil *Demon King *Dual Goddess *The Lady of Pain